Beatles engineer, author speak on group's recording process

Mar. 20, 2014

Written by

Dylan Aycock

Contributing writer

A former Beatles engineer and the co-author of “Recording the Beatles” visited the university last night to speak to students and the community about the recording process of the band’s greatest work.

Ken Scott, a Grammy award winning producer who began his career as one of the five main engineers for The Beatles, provided the audience with an in-depth look into the making of the records, as well as shared personal stories and experiences of working with one of the world’s most iconic groups.

He was interviewed by Abbey Road Studios (formerly known as EMI Studios) when he was 16, and within a week was offered the job and left school. Scott was trained under veteran engineers and was promoted to second engineer within six months.

Scott worked on several of The Beatles albums including “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Magical Mystery Tour” and “The White Album.” He also worked with individual members’ solo projects, such as George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass.”

“I have to say, George is one of the funniest people I have ever met,” he said. “He was a sweetheart and I never saw him particularly down.”

Brian Kehew, a musician and engineer who is best known for co-authoring “Recording The Beatles,” spoke extensively about the writing process in addition to The Beatles’ approach to recording.

“It was a project I was interested in as a recording engineer and producer,” Kehew said. “Some things were written down, some things were kept there, but we had to really dig to find the information.”

In addition to working with The Beatles, both Scott and Kehew have worked with artists such as Pink Floyd, Elton John and David Bowie, among others.

Scott and Kehew concluded the lecture with a Q-and-A session, answering questions about the recording process, as well as providing advice to students with a prospective future in the industry.

“Enjoy what you’re doing, however it goes,” Scott said to an audience member. ”As long as you are doing it for yourself, at the end of it when you become rich and famous or die, you have gotten something from it and you’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

“It was an extraordinary opportunity,” Dean of Mass Communication Ken Paulson told Sidelines. “This is a man who was in the studio when the greatest recordings of all time were compiled. His talents and insights are incomparable and we are honored to have [had] him here.”